Intervention
by sam938
Summary: Ep addition. Set between Citizen Joe and Reckoning. Daniel decides to intervene in what he sees as S/J idiocy/ lack of resolution. 8 chapters. Pretty much done.S/J UST.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Intervention

Author: Sam938

Rating: PG 13 some swearing.

Summary: Ep addition. Set between Citizen Joe and Reckoning. Daniel just can't sit back anymore. And everyone wonders, after that.

Classification: S/J UST

Archive: please ask

Disclaimers: Don't own them, didn't create them, and this is purely for fun and not profit.

Status: Pretty much done. 8 chapters. Short, though. It is an ep addition so, obviously not RST.

Feedback: Yes, thanks! I'd very much appreciate it

Scope note: In Citizen Joe, Jack mentions meeting Kerry Johnson. In Reckoning, the next episode, Daniel gets taken by the RepliCarter. This tale is an episode addition set between the two. It's also a precursor to Threads. I don't normally write this kind of ep/fanfiction additions, but the realizations that Jack, Sam and Kerry and even Pete made in Threads seemed forced, vanillia and incomplete to me. I wanted more background on why Kerry "got " it so fast, why Pete was reasonable, and why Jack and Sam were.. well, you can take that wherever you want to go with them. So, here's my interp. And Daniel's the lynch point.

And, given that Daniel is often in the wrong place and the wrong time and can be seriously annoying, and yet can be an alert, sensitive kind of guy upon occasion, I figure this is the one time that he should have gotten it right, and wrong, in his own unique way.

The story starts by assuming that the reader knows that Daniel and Teal'c have found out about Jack's relationship with Johnson by accidentally showing up at Jack's place when Kerry and Jack are having dinner, left after apologizing, etc. etc. and that the next day Daniel has decided to butt into the situation. So, that's definitely AU. The DJ/ Teal'c experience is prior to Sam running into Jack and Kerry accidentally, which occurs in Threads.

Uhh.. just to make sure I've been clear. This story does not have closure. It's an AU ep addition between Citizen Joe and Reckoning. Closure, for what it's worth, is in Threads.

Intervention

1.

Daniel glared at Jack, suddenly realizing he was more than just annoyed with the man. This time he'd actually reached disgusted, which had to be a first. He looked away, around Jack's office, focusing on anything except Jack's closed, forbidding expression.

He should have known this was never going to work. He was never going to get Jack to see the situation reasonably. Any sensible conversation about personal issues was clearly impossible when the other participant was a full-flown Brigadier General who was at his crusty best, and one who seemed to be perfecting the art as he rolled into the job. Who'd have thought that Jack would take to general-ism so well?

But that wasn't the point. In the end, their latest conversation reminded him of a damned inquisition, although to be fair, Jack hadn't started it. He had. He'd started question to Jack about his relationships, not the other way around. Jack had turned the tables about five minutes ago and Daniel had gotten nowhere since.

He focused and finally got back to the point. "I can't believe you're doing this."

"None of your business, Daniel. And if you don't shut up and leave now, I'll have you removed."

At that, Daniel finally looked back at Jack. "You can't do that."

Jack's closed expression never wavered, although he did put down the pen he'd been messing with. He shrugged and pointed at his shoulder. "My base, my star, and the last time I looked, you were a civilian who's only allowed around here because I said so."

"See? That's exactly the point. You never get **that **'military' unless something's wrong. And this is wrong. You're not thinking clearly."

"Daniel, I'm not the one who's confused here. You are. Go away. In fact, go far, far away. Really far. You're on research leave for the rest of the week, and SG1 isn't scheduled off world until next Monday. So get out of here and go play with whatever you want as long as you do it off of my base, out of my sight and out of my hearing." He turned to his laptop, indicating that the conversation was over.

Daniel thought he'd just wait him out, but Jack clearly wanted to see the last of him because he looked up again almost immediately. His expression was as hard as Daniel had ever seen it.

"Now would be good."

"Damn it, Jack, just think for a minute. You can't just throw me off the base because you don't want to hear what I have to say."

Jack shrugged. "Actually, I can. It's in the regs."

But something of what Daniel was trying to say must have finally gotten through, because Jack did relent somewhat. "Look… I know you mean well. But the point is that my personal life and how I spend my downtime is none of your damned business. And it never will be."

"Jack --"

"Leave it alone, Daniel." It was more of a growl than a comment.

"This isn't right."

Jack didn't even bother to respond. Daniel wished he would; wished he could get something out the man, but he was as cold as stone. Worse than when the Ancients had taken over his brain again. He was just… unreadable and inaccessible. Daniel swore at himself, mentally. He should never have left this issue alone for so long. He should have tried to talk to Jack before the promotion. Who'd have figured that Jack of all men would turn out to be one of the hardest hard asses in the Brass once he got used to the position?

The General, not Jack, stared at him. "Dr. Jackson, SG 12 has been waiting for me for five minutes now in order to debrief. Is there something **important** you need to say? Otherwise, you're wasting both of our times."

Daniel sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere. "I -- God, you're an ass, Jack."

If anything, Jack's jaw got firmer as he finally reacted. "Nothing new in that. And you **are** off the base for the next week. Consider it a vacation."

"You can't--"

"I can. It's done. And in case you missed the memo, Daniel, or you're having a hard time coming back from the dead, calling your CO an ass to his face is universally acknowledged as grounds for disciplinary action in the private, public and military sectors."

"I wasn't talking about work."

"See? There's another problem." Jack raised his hands, indicating quotes. "This is a 'military base' and you're 'working' and I'm in charge. Got it?"

"I don't think that --"

"That's the problem, Daniel. You don't. And you have never been able to distinguish between the personal and the professional."

"Damn it, Jack --"

But Jack had clearly had enough. He gestured through the glass wall of his office, where Walter was hovering outside, as usual. When the man entered, he continued. "Doctor Jackson has requested some downtime, which I've granted. I don't want to see him here until Monday, and I expect that if he does arrive early, you'll inform me."

"Of course, sir." Harriman gestured Daniel towards the door.

Daniel ignored him. "Jack, you can't--"

"He's leaving now, Walter."

"I'm trying, sir." This time, Harriman grabbed his arm.

Daniel shook him off. "I just want you to think about this, Jack. Think about what it means to you and to Sam. There's too much there to --"

"To whom? What the hell are you talking about, Daniel?" Jack turned, suddenly, and looked at Harriman. "Walter, give me a minute with the fruit loop in front of me, and then come back with reinforcements."

"Yes, sir." Harriman clearly couldn't get out of the door fast enough.

Daniel ignored that too. "My point is --"

"MY first point is that you are never again going to imply in front of any of my officers that there is even the slightest hint of anything except a professional working relationship between **Colonel Carter** and me. It's insulting to both of us and I'm not going to allow your incorrect ramblings create unmerited gossip on my base. My **second** point is that you are way out of line. I didn't ask for your advice, and I don't want it. What I do with my personal time is, as I said before, none of your damned business. What piece of both of those points are you missing? "

Okay, maybe Jack had a point, even a couple of points on that one. Daniel tried compromise. "None. And you're right. I shouldn't have said anything about Sam with Harriman in the room, although discretion is his middle name. But this is still unfair to you, Sam and to Kerry Johnson."

With Johnson's name connected to Sam's, Jack finally reacted. It just wasn't the way Daniel had hoped.

"Okay, now I'm sure. You're certifiable. I've always suspected it, but now it's a given. Just in case you missed the last couple of years, which in part you did while being dead, Daniel, Carter's been dating a cop and now she's engaged, for crying out loud. She's got nothing to do with anything related to me personally. And any relationship I have with Agent Johnson is above board, by the regs, and none of your concern."

Jack gestured through the glass of the closed door to where Harriman was waiting with two SFs and gestured him in.

"Walter, get Dr. Jackson off my base."

"Yes, sir." Harriman gestured to the SFs.

Daniel sighed, admitting defeat. "All right, I'm going. You don't have to escort me. But you're still an ass, Jack."

"Out."

He left.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

2.

Daniel slammed the locker with unnecessary force, feeling better at the noise, and then grabbed his finger, which had somehow managed to get caught in the crossfire, checking to see if he broken it. No. Damn it anyway. If Jack wanted to keep his head up his … whatever, there was nothing more he could do. He'd tried to talk some sense into him, but Jack O'Neill was nothing if not stubborn. So be it. He'd tried.

"Daniel Jackson."

He looked up, suddenly realizing that Teal'c had been trying to get his attention since he slammed the locker on his finger. " Teal'c. Sorry. Didn't see you."

"Apparently not. You were engaged in an altercation with your locker. No doubt it distracted you."

Daniel shrugged, still checking his finger. "Well, yeah. I think I lost that 'altercation' too. Anyway, I'm out of here. I'll see you next week."

Teal'c looked at him, clearly surprised. "I thought you planned to decipher the language on the artifact that we retrieved on P3X464 this week."

"Yeah, well, things change."

At Teal'c's raised eyebrow, he explained. "Jack's kicked me off the base for the rest of the week."

If anything, the eyebrow just moved higher.

Daniel sighed. "We got into a discussion and he didn't like what I had to say."

Teal'c stared at him, his expression stoic and noncommittal. "You confronted O'Neill about what we saw last night."

"Well, somebody had to say something. This is just … wrong on so many levels."

Teal'c turned away from him and opened his locker. "I believe your actions were unwise."

"Not you too. Damn it, Teal'c, you know as well as I do what's been going on, or rather what should have been going on but hasn't been for the last seven years. This latest start of Jack's is just pure insanity, not to mention seriously stupid, and they're all going to end up miserable over all of it."

Teal'c, at least, didn't pretend to misunderstand him; he just ignored him, grabbing towels and soap from his locker. "Colonel Carter is engaged. She has chosen another path."

Daniel grimaced and sat down on the bench next to his locker. "Another act of supreme stupidity. It's obvious they're made for each other --even when they're not in synch, they manage to be stupid together. I just wish the hell they'd see it before everyone, including Shanahan and Johnson, end up hurt."

Teal'c continued to grab clothes from his locker, then finally closed it and turned around to look at him. "I believe you are incorrect. Colonel Carter appears happy, and it is not surprising that O'Neill has chosen to find companionship elsewhere. He has been alone a very long time. We were not meant to see what we did last night. Our arrival at O'Neill's was inopportune. You should not have spoken to him about it."

"Oh for… you're as bad as they are. And when has Jack ever had anything going on in the evening? How were we supposed to know?"

"Obviously that has changed. But I believe you are wrong to be concerned for them. O'Neill and Colonel Carter are honorable. They would not deceive those they have chosen."

Daniel sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Not deliberately. The problem is they don't know they're doing it because they're too busy deceiving themselves."

Teal'c's expression was as serious as Daniel had ever seen it, and that was saying a lot. Daniel got the point even before Teal'c decided to comment. "Regardless of our opinions, it is their decision and not for us to interfere. "

"Yeah, that's what Jack said, only his version was 'mind your own damned business'. I just -- oh the hell with it. Maybe I could use some time off base. I'm damned sick of the regs right now. I did want to work on the artifact, but this situation is just too damned --"

"If you wish to remain on base, perhaps you should consider talking to O'Neill again."

Daniel looked up at that, annoyed with just about everything, including Teal'c at this point. "And say what? Apologize? No way. I meant what I said. He's being an ass and they can't see what's staring them in the face. And any way you look at it, the whole thing's a mess. Something needs to be done."

Teal'c tilted his head, the same way he did when he was reviewing battle strategy. "I hope you are not considering having a conversation with Colonel Carter on this topic."

Daniel sighed. "I considered it." Teal'c just looked at him, his disapproval evident. Daniel swallowed. "I said I thought about it. I didn't say I was going to do it." He shrugged. "It wouldn't help. She's as bad as he is, maybe worse. I'd hoped she'd get over this engagement idiocy in time and see sense, but that's never going to happen if she thinks Jack's moved on. And to be honest, I don't want to hurt her. And she's gonna be hurt one way or another, because it's only a matter of time until she learns Jack's having an affair."

"O'Neill's actions are not a betrayal."

Daniel grimaced. "The hell they aren't. And she's going to be hurting the same way Jack was when he found out about the cop."

"If O'Neill was upset he hid it well."

Daniel brushed the comment aside. "Of course he did. In standard Jack O'Neill style."

"I hope you are incorrect about all of this."

Daniel sighed again. "Trust me, Teal'c, I'm not." He picked up his backpack. "Look, I'll see you next Monday. Let me know if anything happens in the meantime, because they're going to need some help picking up the pieces if it does."

"As you wish." Teal'c stopped him as he turned to go out the door. "For what it is worth, I too had hoped for a different outcome. The universe is --"

"I know, Teal'c. It's not a pretty place and there are no happy endings."

"Indeed. We have both learned this to our cost."

"Yeah, we have. As for the universe, I just wish it was a little nicer to Jack and Sam. But at least they're not dead yet. Just acting like it." He watched as Teal'c shrugged and headed out towards the showers and then finally left himself, disgusted and concerned.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

3

3.

Sam Carter stood frozen in front of the door of the locker room, unable to decide whether to put her fist through the door or Daniel's jaw when he finally came out. She honestly couldn't remember ever being angrier. It was true that you saw red. She noticed vaguely that she was shaking. The amazing part was that the General hadn't killed Daniel before she'd had the chance.

She watched as the door finally opened and her quarry came out.

Daniel stared at her, startled, almost running into her. "Uhh.. Sam. Didn't realize you were there." He swallowed. "How long have you been there anyway?"

"Long enough." She gestured to the locker room door. "Get back in there, Daniel. We have a few things to discuss."

He grimaced, clearly wanting to avoid her, but finally followed her in. "Yeah. I do need to talk to you. I thought you should know Jack's kicked me off the base for a week, so I'm out of here. I was on my way to your lab, but I guess that's not necessary now."

"I already know. I came down here to find out what stupidity you've been engaging in to make him so angry."

"It was nothing, really."

"Oh really? Nothing, huh. The walls aren't that sound proof, Daniel. My only question is why you're still standing right now. The General isn't usually so tolerant." She noticed her hands had turned to fists. It was tempting.

Daniel noticed as well. "Uh… Sam, you're not going to resort to violence, are you? I mean, then you'd be off base as well."

"What the hell were you thinking? How dare you impugn the General's, Agent Johnson's and my reputations in a public space like a locker room? Are you out of your mind?"

"Apparently. Look, Sam, I'm sorry."

"Not good enough. For god sakes, Daniel, General O'Neill is my CO. My engagement is none of your damned business and the General and Kerry Johnson are working on developing the plan to track down the Goa'ulds. That it. You are so far out of line that's it's…disgusting."

Daniel rubbed the bridge of this nose, lifting his glasses and clearly came to some sort of decision. "The hell with it. Sam, at this particular moment, I don't give a damn if neither you nor Jack talk to me for the rest of our lives. I am not going to stand here and listen to your rationalizations anymore. Enough's enough. Yes, Jack's your CO, but he's more than that and has been for a long time. I'm your friend, whether you believe it or not right now, and I do care about you. That does make your engagement my business. I want you to be happy. And Jack and Kerry Johnson are a lot more than professional colleagues. It's time you both woke up and fixed this situation before even more people get hurt."

"Go to hell, Daniel."

"Yeah, ok. Already been there a number of times for you, what's one more?" He shook his head. "OK, that was out of line." When he looked back at her, his gaze was as serious and apologetic as she'd ever seen it. "I'm sorry, Sam. But just because you don't want to hear any of this doesn't mean it isn't true."

She glared at him, speechless. "Damn you, Daniel. If you were my friend, you'd support my decisions and shut up."

"Not if you're making the wrong choices. Look, just think about it and I swear I will never mention any of this again, no matter what you decide." And with that, he turned away and left her standing alone in the locker room, still furious, her gut wrenching. And damn it, deep down she had to admit that it was also possible that he had a point.

She slammed her hand into the wall, and then turned and slid down, sitting against her locker, trying to sort out what had really made her so angry, and what she needed to do about it.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

4.

Jack O'Neill stared out the viewing window of his office, coffee cups and paperwork strewn around him in disarray, and then leaned back in his chair, running his hands over his eyes and through his hair. It had been a long night, and promised to be an even longer day. The intel SG12 had brought back wasn't good, but there was nothing he could do about it except strategize and wait for the proverbial shoe to drop. And it was going to drop. Soon.

He picked up the paperwork, piling it up carefully and then threw the coffee cups in the garbage. Walter would be coming in half an hour. Jack didn't want him to know exactly how distracted he was. And he was distracted. Damn Daniel anyway. Why now of all times had Daniel decided to stick in nose in someone else's, and specifically his, business? He shook his head, and closed his eyes for a minute, remembering. Daniel had always had a talent for being damned annoying when he felt like it. And sometimes, just sometimes, Daniel had had a point.

Damn it all anyway.

So he, Jack O'Neill, was seeing someone. What was the big deal in that? Carter and he had locked up whatever had been there years ago, and she'd moved on. She was engaged for gods sake. You'd think Daniel would get that. And Jack was happy for her. One of his biggest hopes for her was for her to be happy and now she clearly was. And as for him, caring about someone for eight years when it was never going to go anywhere was, even for him, beating himself up long enough. It was time to move on.

Kerry Johnson was an intelligent and charming woman and for some unfathomable reason seemed to be interested in him, which was pretty weird. And OK, if he had to engage in Daniel type discussion, he might be willing to acknowledge that he might never have noticed her if Carter hadn't decided to get engaged the week before. But it wasn't like he was on a rebound. There was nothing to rebound from.

He hadn't asked Kerry out; she'd asked him to dinner, which had stunned him at the time. He grimaced, remembering. He was so out of practice that he hadn't even understood the question.

He sighed. Daniel was an absolute ass. Just because Teal'c and he had walked in on Kerry and him while having dinner at his house, Daniel had jumped to impossible conclusions. He was hardly leading Kerry on. They'd had the appropriate discussions about taking things slowly, about keeping the relationship quiet, about not promising anything. The fact of the matter was that he enjoyed her company.

Damn Daniel anyway. The real fact of the matter was that he was a Brigadier General in charge of over 3000 men and women, on the brink of war with Anubis, and he didn't have time for this kind of distraction. He had every right to have a personal life and enjoy a woman's company in what few downtime moments that he did have without having someone second-guessing his motives.

The worst part was he was going to have to let Daniel back on the base. They needed his translation skills to figure out the tablet SG12 had brought back with them, and they needed that tablet yesterday. On top of that, Bratac and Teal'c were nearing completion on the plans for the Jaffa rebellion. Bottom line, Daniel's presence was necessary right now, regardless of his general inclination towards insubordination, flat out immaturity at times and inability to understand when to keep his mouth shut.

Yeah, Daniel was a pain. But Jack had to admit that this was the first time Daniel had annoyed him enough that Jack had resorted to action rather than just threats. And that said something. Actually said a lot. The fact was, when Daniel got this willing to be out of line, he usually had a point. Uncomfortable with the thought, he let it go and turned back to the pile of work in front of him. He'd leave Daniel to simmer for the morning at least. To be perfectly honest, Jack needed the break.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

5.

Kerry Johnson stood in front of Jack's office door watching him work through the glass partition in the wall. He looked tired and serious. She hesitated, wondering if she really should interrupt him. It was early enough that even Sgt. Harriman wasn't onsite; there was no one to check with. She swallowed and stared to knock. It would only take a minute after all, or maybe not. Regretting her action, she started to turn away, but he'd already seen her, and gestured her in.

"Come."

"Hey."

Jack smiled at her, looking up from his paperwork, although the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey. You're here early."

She gestured towards his piles. "And it looks like you never left."

He ran his hands over his face. "Yeah. Long night. I'm sorry about canceling dinner. But with the data SG12 brought back, I needed to be --"

She broke in. "There's no need to apologize. I understand."

With that he grinned, clearly relieved. "Thanks."

"No problem."

She swallowed, grimacing to herself, and decided that maybe this really wasn't the time to address the reason that had brought her to the Mountain so early. She backtracked, relying on the safe way out and the professional one. The personal would have to wait.

"General, there are a few things I'd like to adjust in the strategy we discussed about locating the remainder of the Trust. I planned to talk to you about them last night, but… well. Anyway, I thought I'd set up an appointment with you through Harriman today if you think you have the time. I know you've got a lot on your plate right now. And this can wait a couple of days."

He looked at her strangely, his expression unreadable. Then he looked down at his watch. "Walter should be here in fifteen minutes or so. You can set it with him. I'll make the time."

"Thanks. Well, I'd better get out of your hair. I just--anyway." She turned to leave, but his words stopped her.

"Kerry, you want to tell me the real reason you're here why you're here at 6 am or do you plan to chicken out?"

She grinned. "Chicken sounds good."

He smiled back. "Coward. "

"Yep, that's me. But seriously, Jack, it's not important and it can wait. And you're swamped." She gestured towards his desk.

He looked down at the pen he was playing with and then back up at her. "That's not going to change, Kerry. In the last eight years, I've always been swamped. The star just means I do it sitting on my ass instead of recon in the field."

"So, business as usual, huh?"

"Oh yeah, you betcha."

She got the subtext of his comment. He was a busy man with the safety of the planet sitting squarely on his shoulders. He didn't have time to second-guess her motives. If she wanted to know something, she needed to come clean and say so or leave it alone. Huh. Some choice.

She swallowed. "Rumor has it that you kicked Dr. Jackson off the base yesterday. Evidently for the first time in eight years of working with him."

He put down the pen, leaned back in his chair, ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "I did. All over the base, huh?"

"Yep. Big news in the rumor mill. Very big."

He shrugged, clearly filing the information away. "Figures. I should have expected it."

She cleared her throat and continued, finally getting to the point. "Jack, does this have anything to do with Jackson and Teal'c showing up at your house the night before? I mean… I guess I'm asking if this has anything to do with me. Because if there's a problem, I'd like to know if I'm involved or the cause of it."

He looked ready to interrupt, so she put up a hand, stopping him for now. "I don't mean to be presumptuous. I know you and Jackson have a long, complicated and not always very easy relationship, but the timing's a little to close for comfort, don't you think? We agreed to keep this quiet, and I'm wondering just how far the cat is out of the bag and if there's been some yowling and scratching involved."

He grinned for a moment before his expression became serious. "Daniel and Teal'c know how to keep their mouths shut. You don't need to worry about your name getting spread about."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

With that, he looked up, surprise evident.

She sighed and got to the point. "I'm not saying that if the rumors got started, it wouldn't be unpleasant, because I know it would be. But there's nothing inappropriate about seeing each other. I just know you don't need, and the SGC doesn't need, that kind of gossip about the head of the base right now. You don't need that kind of distraction. So if --"

He stopped her. "Kerry, I --look, thanks, but as I said it's just business as usual around here. There's never a good time."

Huh, a non-answer if she ever heard one, but she supposed no one got to be a General without the ability to generate great non-answers. "Jack, please level with me. What happened with Jackson?"

He grimaced. "No scratching, but there was a bit of yowling involved." He picked up the pen again and flipped it in his fingers, clearly thinking about phrasing his comments carefully. "To make a long story short, he refused a direct order and I threw him off the base for a few days to cool down."

"That's it?"

He looked up and this time she knew he'd decided to come clean. "He's worried about you. Seems to think I'm not such a great option and that I should tell you that."

She stared back at him, completely surprised by the comment. "I -- lord, I don't know what to say. Jack, I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices. I don't even **know **Jackson. Why would he say such a thing?"

Jack stared at her, his face unreadable. "Because he is constitutionally incapable of staying out of everyone's business, I guess, or at least staying out of mine."

She blinked, trying to take it in. "Oh. Oh, hell. I'm sorry if this is causing problems for you. Maybe we should --"

With that, he stood up and walked away from the desk, towards her. "Kerry, it's not. Daniel has always been a pain in the ass; maybe a good man and friend but still a pain. It was inevitable that I'd throw him off the base some time or another. I think even **he's** surprised I haven't done it sooner. And it honestly was because he refused an order."

"I see. But I still --"

"Daniel does not run my life. And we have an agreement, right? Take this quietly, a day at a time, and not worry about where it may go?" The question in his voice was unmistakable. He was definitely giving her an out.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do."

He smiled. "So, let's just forget about Daniel and leave him stew for a while. How about dinner tonight? Sort of to pick up the rain check from yesterday?"

She shrugged mentally and gave up trying to figure out whatever it was that was going on. There was obviously something more, something that had Jackson worried, but it was clear that Jack wasn't going to tell her Jackson's reasoning. She was pretty sure she didn't want to know anyway. Her readings of the SG1 files made it apparent that the relationships in the team were complex and convoluted.

She smiled back at Jack and quit wondering, for now, anyway. "All right. But let's not set a date or a time. Just give me a call when you're free."

"Thanks." He turned back to his desk, his mind clearly on his work again. But as she left the office, she realized she was lying to herself. She was starting to care about Jack O'Neill more than what was merited in a casual affair, and that was a problem. He'd always been up front with her, made it clear he literally had no time for more. She wondered now if that was the only reason.

TBC…


End file.
